Russia first treated Navalny for suspected poisoning then U-turned - doctor

Alexander Sabaev, the chief toxicologist of the hospital where Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny received medical treatment before his medical evacuation to Germany, looks on during an interview in Omsk, Russia September 4, 2020. REUTERS/Alexey Malgavko

OMSK, Russia (Reuters) - Russia first treated Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny for suspected poisoning, but doctors changed their minds after six hours when laboratory tests came back that found no traces of poison in his system, one of the doctors who treated him has said.

A dispute over what caused 44-year-old Navalny to collapse on a domestic Russian flight last month is straining ties between Germany, where he is now being treated, and Russia, which denies Berlin's accusation that he was poisoned with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent.